Ex-minister of defense Victor Gaiciuc said that by the initiative to renounce the mandatory military service, the ruling party either cheats or really wants a modern, well-trained, numerically optimal army that would cope with the needs to be created given that the dangers have increased during the last few years. However, it is not clear how the army will be financed and how the reserve will be formed. The opinion was stated in the public debate “Professional army: motives, benefit, risks” that was staged by IPN News Agency and Radio Moldova.
Victor Gaiciuc said it is clear for everyone that the professional army implies larger costs than the mixed army or the army with mandatory military service. On the one hand, they say there is not enough money for the current army. On the other hand, they intend to build a more expensive army. “I would like to know how the reform will be financed and from what sources. Can the costs for the national army be increased from 03% of the GDP to 0.6% next year and to 1% in a year, as in all the European states?” asked the ex-minister of defense.
According to him, it is also not clear how the reserve will be formed. “As a military man, I know that the military actions imply losses. I ask myself how these losses will be filled. If it is about military actions, these require the army to be increased. There are also such aspects as financing, the reserve and that incompatibility of the legislation, the Constitution and all the laws that provide now that each citizen should defend the homeland,” stated Victor Gaiciuc, noting that the Republic of Moldova is a neutral state and Switzerland is a very good example as each citizen there is obliged to do the military service.
He considers the idea of professionalizing the army was and is always welcome in society as the professional soldiers can act faster and better. The regional context reveals different dangers. If the state wants the military security to be ensured, it should allocate at least 1% of the GDP for the army.
“I would suggest forming permanent training, quick reaction units that would fully consists of contract professionals and units of the second category that would enable to also draft conscripts for military service. Everyone fears the word “mixed”. But the larger is the number of army’s legs, the more difficult it will be to destroy it,” stated Victor Gaiciuc.
The public debate “Professional army: motives, benefit, risks” was the 88th installment of the series of debates “Developing political culture by public debates” that are staged with support from the Hanns Seidel Foundation of Germany.
